Rick Carlisle likes to call them “milk drinkers.”
They are good teammates and good players, but not necessarily equipped with the mentality of having a mean streak or the willingness to stir things up.
The LA Clippers are full of guys who most definitely are not milk drinkers.
That said, coach Doc Rivers chuckled at the idea that any of his players might have agitated Kristaps Porzingis or any other Maverick into a situation that could have compromised their availability for Game 1.
“I’ve never met a coach in my life before the game thinking: OK, this is what I need to do to get under their skin,” Rivers said Tuesday, the day after the Clips had taken a 1-0 lead in the best-of seven first-round series against the Mavericks.